‘Corruption, insecurity driving food insecurity’

BULAWAYO – Poor management, corruption and politicking are the major
drivers of food insecurity in Zimbabwe, a think-tank – Centre for Public
Engagement (CPE) – has said.

Presenting a paper on humanitarian aid in the country at a Transparency
International Zimbabwe (TIZ)-organised forum yesterday, CPE director
Samukele Hadebe said resources meant for the “vulnerable and very poor are
were being politicised and diverted”.

“Food aid remains a high risk for corrupt practices . . . hence denying
the intended beneficiaries of their rightful benefits further deepening
their vulnerability,” he said.

Hadebe said the perennial food insecurity that Zimbabweans have grappled
with for years was a direct responsibility of government.

“We are talking of the system that is failing to deliver its promises,
where poor management and corruption is now the order of the day.

“We are suffering because government has failed to improve food security
and do away with dependency in the country,” he told the gathering.

The think-tank director said several strategies dating back to the early
80s aimed at building food resilience by government, such as Free Food
Distribution Programme, Food for Work, Grain Loan Scheme, Public Works
Programme and Operation Maguta, among others, have been implemented but
“yielded nothing”.

“The issue of food security goes beyond farming but also goes to
resuscitation of industry, which becomes a governance issue again.”

Hadebe also cited internal factional politics within the ruling Zanu PF as
having a huge impact on food security.

“Food aid is intricately linked to the country’s developmental challenges
and the imbroglio of the social-economic meltdown and political impasse
caused by internal factional politics of the ruling party,” he said.

With dwindling financial resources coupled with policy inconsistencies,
“it would be foolhardy to expect that food deficit mitigation strategy
would fare any better”.

He, however, said a significant turnaround of the economy and massive
injection of capital accompanied by infrastructure rehabilitation was the
only way to reduce vulnerability and build resilience in communities for
long term food security.

COMMENTS

The sad thing is with poor agricultural management, therecwill always be limited food production. Those in power will then use food as a tool to manipulate the masses. So poverty is being emcouraged and used to achieve political goals.